Speaking of school buses ...

"With summer half over, bus issue still unresolved" - Examiner, 8/2/07:

Not a single bus company bid for the Millstone Township School District's out-of-district bus runs in the initial bidding process.

Approximately 160 Millstone students who attend school at the Christian Brothers Academy in the Lincroft section of Middletown, Notre Dame High School in the Lawrenceville section of Lawrence, St. John Vianney Regional High School in Holmdel, and St. Rose of Lima High School in Freehold will be affected by the final decision on the busing issue.

Parents of out-of-district students asked Board of Education President Mary Ann Friedman how the school district would accommodate those out-of-district students who would be forced to attend district schools due to lack of transportation.

"Parents in a panic over how kids will get to school" - Examiner, 8/2/07:

More than 300 residents signed a petition urging the Millstone Township Board of Education to provide transportation for its nonpublic school students.

Boyle said that the school district currently has 36 buses of its own. Before the new middle school on Baird Road came on board this year, the district buses all originated from the former middle school site on Millstone Road.

"Now, they will have to go out and come back for a school three miles away," Boyle said.

Resident Ron Schlegel said he does not see any winners in the busing situation. He said that taxpayers would have to foot the bill for private school students to attend public school if the district has transportation problems.

And the real kicker:

"Boyle follows Setaro's lead to Freehold" - Examiner, 8/2/07:

The school district's business administrator will soon join its former superintendent in the Freehold Township School District.

Business Administrator Brian Boyle, who has worked in the Millstone Township School District since December 1997, has been hired for the same position in the Freehold Township School District.

And don't overlook this letter -

"Parent feels betrayed by action of the school board":

Some say that if you can afford to send your child to a private school, you can afford busing. However, we are not prepared to have to pay for our child to get bused to school. What do our taxes pay for?

By making the choice to send our children to private schools, we are actually saving the taxpayers of Millstone approximately $1.5 million. And, all that we are requesting is for you to provide four to five buses. It costs approximately $129,000 to bus our children, which is a lot less than $1.5 million. We are not talking about one or two children here, we are talking about 150-plus Millstone children.

déjà vu all over again.